It was a year of collaborative projects, smart technology, smart furniture and smart cities – but first and foremost great public spaces that answered their community’s needs. Count down our top six StreetChat stories of 2018, that were most popular with subscribers.
6. Competitions: Win a Drone and Smart Watch
StreetChat subscribers contributed some creative entries in both competitions, but there could only be one winner for each.
Luke Cox from Phillips Smith Conwell Architects in Brisbane was named the winner of the android smart watch for his acrostic poem entry.
Matthew Moore, also from Brisbane but with HASSELL, took home the DJI Spark Mini Drone for his beachside augmented reality Aria. See the gallery of entries.
Matthew Moore’s augmented reality Aria, by the sea.
5. Smart Social Spaces
Georges River Council and the University of New South Wales set out to explore how data can assist with asset management and planning to help Council provide better places for its community. They invited Street Furniture Australia to take part as the industry partner in the project, which received a grant from the government’s $50m Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.
The Smart Social Spaces project is currently underway in an urban plaza in Hurstville and suburban park in Penshurst. It has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, and results are to be presented in 2019.
Members of the project team at the Smart Social Spaces launch.
4. Kingscliffe Foreshore
This $22-million Tweed Shire Council foreshore revitalisation is designed to create a link between the beach, the new central park and the CBD for the highly engaged local Kingscliff community.
It includes a mix of relaxed Forum seating, Park Settings for picnics under shelters, Sun Lounges and custom seating integrated into the steps down the water.
Kingscliffe Foreshore features a bright colour palette.
3. Introducing the Termini Seat
This brand new seat for waiting areas is ideal for airports, interchanges, transport, health and service centres.
Termini is proudly designed and made in Australia to provide lasting comfort while you wait for your flight, train, ferry or bus, or your next appointment.
The modular design comes as 2, 3 or 4 seater options, with low tables available anywhere you like along the axle. The wide, low table is a generous size to place your belongings, your laptop and your coffee.
Termini was also the subject of our first product demo video.
2. #WodenExperiment Gets Started
Street Furniture Australia worked with the ACT Government on #WodenExperiment, an activation to enliven Woden Town Square in Canberra.
The six-week discovery phase included hours of observation, empathy interviews and a community workshop, culminating in a 67-page Discovery Report. The report then informed a user-centred design for the six-month activation by Context.
The activation is set to begin in 2019.
Design for #WodenExperiment, by Context.
1. Australia’s First Smart Bench
The PowerMe™ Table was launched in October at the 2018 International Festival of Landscape Architecture, featuring wireless, usb and GPO charging. The generous clamshell design also includes space for optional public WiFi and evolving hardware.
PowerMe can easily be integrated with many of Street Furniture Australia’s benches and seats, making it Australia’s first smart bench. It is designed and made in our Western Sydney studio and factory.
The Aria Seating System, a modular suite of products that allow custom configurations with standard parts, was concurrently launched. Aria and PowerMe can be specified together with the Build Aria augmented reality app.
PowerMe prototypes were first seen at Future Street in front of Customs House.
Thank you for your support of StreetChat throughout the year. We look forward to sharing more stories with you in 2019.
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